United States v. Russell Gause

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: April 29, 2025
• Docket: 24-7057
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 24-7057 Doc: 8 Filed: 04/29/2025 Pg: 1 of 2

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 24-7057

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

RUSSELL DWAYNE GAUSE, a/k/a Rut,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Florence. Sherri A. Lydon, District Judge. (4:22-cr-00058-SAL-2)

Submitted: April 24, 2025 Decided: April 29, 2025

Before RICHARDSON and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Russell Dwayne Gause, Appellant Pro Se. Lauren L. Hummel, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-7057 Doc: 8 Filed: 04/29/2025 Pg: 2 of 2

PER CURIAM:

Russell Dwayne Gause appeals the district court’s order denying him a sentence

reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on Amendment 821 to the Sentencing

Guidelines. We review the denial of a motion under § 3582(c)(2) for abuse of discretion.

United States v. Martin, 916 F.3d 389, 395 (4th Cir. 2019). In considering whether to

reduce a sentence under § 3582(c)(2), the district court must first determine whether the

individual is eligible for a reduction and, if so, the extent of the reduction authorized. Id.

The court must then “consider any applicable [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) factors and determine

whether, in its discretion, the reduction authorized by reference to the policies relevant at

step one is warranted in whole or in part under the particular circumstances of the case.”

Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 827 (2010).

Here, the district court found that Gause was eligible for a sentence reduction but

declined to exercise its discretion to reduce his sentence based on its assessment of the

§ 3553(a) factors. Because we discern no abuse of discretion in the district court’s

decision, we affirm the court’s order. United States v. Gause, No. 4:22-cr-00058-SAL-2

(D.S.C. Oct. 24, 2024). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would

not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED